


A Reluctant Loner

by WriterofGotham



Category: Justice League (2017), Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Drabble, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, No Slash, No Smut, foster kid, little sad, positive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 14:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12843060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterofGotham/pseuds/WriterofGotham
Summary: Time goes by fast for the average person. So many times people say, "Time goes by so fast, where has the year gone?"For Barry, it goes by too slowly. A minute can seem like an hour, just talking to people say words so slowly. Barry decides to only talk to people when he has to. That isn't hard to do, he didn't have friends and small talk made him nervous. So he watches, he sees them and says he doesn't want that. (He lies.)





	1. Chapter 1

Time goes by fast for the average person. So many times people say, "Time goes by so fast, where has the year gone?"

For Barry it goes by too slowly. A minute can seem like an hour, just talking to people say words so slowly. Barry decides to only talk to people when he has to. That isn't hard to do, he didn't have friends and small talk made him nervous. So he watches them, he sees them and says he doesn't want that. (He lies.)

He hides in plain sight. The warehouse is perfect for Barry it doesn't have many guests, the rent is affordable for him, and no one can see when he speeds into it. He tells himself that it could be worse, he could be homeless, or worse. (Because they are always worse things that could happen. The wrong person could have discovered him.)

Hiding seemed like the best option. No one knows about him and his abilities, he's lonely, but he wasn't used to people staying and getting to know him. He stays in his warehouse and when people his age are out partying he learns things. He taught himself gorilla sign language, he learned how to stitch himself up, he knew how to speak in a few languages, and read libraries of books. (Medical books were for things that could happen.)

He didn't talk to people, and time went by slowly for him. Barry didn't want to get used to slow people so his company was all he had, besides prison visits with his Dad. His Dad was depressing to be around Barry loved the man to death, but it made him remember everything that could have been with his family. His Dad wasn't going to get out of prison anytime soon so they were pointless dreams.

Books and fast music became his friends. He didn't mind. Not really, he knew he was an accident. It's hard to fit in when your so clearly different than everyone else.

Barry finds that saving people is awesome. He pushes them out of the way and runs far away. (He never claimed to be courageous.)

Running is what he's good at. Central City is a large city, but he can run across it in just seconds. He makes sure he runs so fast that no one can see him.

Then at a convenience store he runs and saves the store employee. He runs away to avoid questions. People don't like what they don't understand, and he is no hero.

Then he comes back from visiting his dad, and Bruce Wayne, The Batman asks him to join him to stop a danger threatening the world.

He says, "yes", before Batman's done speaking. Barry was always was a reluctant loner.

He needed to see and be with people like he needed food. He didn't have to lie and say he didn't need people or friends. Bruce was nice and Diana was...Wow. He had friends all of a sudden, Victor and Arthur joined and even if they all seemed scary and more experienced than him, but he didn't care. He was part of something else, bigger than any one of them.

Friends he didn't have to hide such a large part of his life from. Clark could keep up with him when running, Bruce and he looked over his Dad's case, Victor could talk science with him, Arthur was scary so he kept the scarier people away, and Diana listened to him in a way that no other person had.

Life for Barry seemed to go faster, he spent time with his teammates and it was amazing. He was surprised at how much he had missed talking to people how warm they were. People were warm, it was the small touches on the shoulder harder or pats on the back, he was reminded of how much he forgot about being with people. She was like an older sister that looked out for him. Victor encouraged him and helped him with his CSI work when he was stuck on having every database ever in him was helpful for any topic ever. Bruce was different, he was harder to get to know, and when Barry finally worked through all the walls Bruce put up Barry saw that he was dark and lonely on the inside Barry wanted to know what caused it. Arthur kept him on his toes, the older man always was intense when Barry got to know him he was nice and broken at the same time.

Time isn't so slow anymore for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Joining the Justice League isn't like any of the foster homes he's lived in. (Stayed at really, not lived.) The people are nicer, they don't pity him or yell when he does things wrong. He tries not to mess up or fumble when he runs with the heroes. He did mess up and fall, but Bruce caught him. He didn't yell at him, just saved him, didn't expect a thanks, Bruce just did it. Bruce is grumpy and broody, but he doesn't hit him like some of the foster dads he had. Barry doesn't see him as a Father figure. (He wouldn't admit it out loud at least.) Bruce gives him suggestions for his suit extra safety measures. He takes them and he runs with it, he keeps the style and runs with it adding shock absorbing pads and extra friction resistant layers on his boots. For all of Bruce's gruffness, he cares for all of them. (Like a foster Dad he had once.) 

Diana is more subtle, she's there when one of them is hurt. She can talk as she wraps a wound, or pats a shoulder to reassure that you aren't hurt too badly. She talks and you want to listen to her, she knows what she's talking about. She's a leader even when she doesn't want to be one. Barry finds that he respects her almost more than anyone he knows. She has something about her that is so magnetic and personable, it makes her strong and warm all at the same time. She is powerful and gentle, Diana is a balanced person. (She reminds him of his mother. Powerful and so gentle) 

Victor is a cool guy they probably wouldn't have talked in high school; jocks and foster kids who are huge nerds are pretty different. Somehow they bond over being accidents, freaks of nature and science. Barry gets feeling like a freak, but he realizes that Victor has it a lot worse. He can't hide being part metal, like Barry can hide his speed from the world. They both are younger than the other members and haven't fought crime for years. Barry is glad he is his friend. (He forgot what friends his own age were like.) 

Arthur, scared him at first. The man is built like a brick wall and he controls water. Barry learns that he is scary like a dark storming ocean, but he has a sense of humor that's dark and dry. Barry admires him for his no-nonsense attitude and his fashion sense in pitchforks. He is someone Barry is proud to fight beside. (Arthur wouldn't feed him to the piranhas.) 

Thinking about all his new friends he knew it wouldn't be like all the foster families he was placed with. He wouldn't have to leave them when he messed up, the League was going to be forever. Barry didn't have to worry about making any of them mad and being told to leave. (Because he was a handful, too energetic, and not what they were looking for after all.) It was better than he believed his life could be. Barry forgot what it felt like to feel like he belonged and really believed in something. (He believed in something again when he met them.)

He believed in a lot of things now: justice, friendship, hope, honesty, goodness and he could save people with his speed. Justice had seemed like a fairy tale before he met them. Now he could dole out justice with his *super friends*. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I be writing a essay on if the Welfare system in America works? Yes. Did I? Well, I have until Friday and the subject stinks.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to drop a comment or leave a kudo!


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